"Anaïs, wake up," commanded a moderately loud voice, causing the young woman to startle and suddenly open her eyes.

Anubis had placed his hand on her shoulder to shake her gently. He immediately withdrew it when he saw she was finally awake. She blinked several times to clear the post-sleep haze blurring her vision, then yawned and stretched slowly, completely ignoring the presence of the jackal god who had stepped back to give her space. His gaze was averted, and an awkward expression covered his face. Anaïs looked around to try and find the source of his discomfort, then noticed that her loose t-shirt had slipped down her shoulder, revealing the top of her breast and the color of her bra. She giggled as she pulled the fabric up to cover her skin. Anubis coughed to try and hide his embarrassment, but the slight blush coloring his cheeks betrayed him.

Well, well… Seems like I do have some effect on him… she thought with a mischievous smile.

"What is she doing? We don’t have all morning," came a voice from the hallway, one she recognized as the woman from the previous night.

Isis, Anubis’ adoptive mother. The goddess adorned with a solar disk surrounded by two cow horns. The deity who didn’t seem to like Anaïs at all and who, for the second time now, had used a venomous tone when referring to her. Something told her it was best not to anger her, especially not when the pair was about to embark on a mission to gather the pieces of the deceased Osiris very soon. The young human got up, her face serious, and joined Anubis who was now waiting by the bedroom door.

When they reached the hallway, Anaïs noticed that Isis wasn’t wearing her eccentric headdress, and thus looked like a perfectly normal woman with her long black hair and stern—almost disdainful—eyes fixed on her. The goddess scrutinized her from head to toe, taking in her inappropriate attire for this place and historical period. It was true that she hadn’t seen many women walking around in loose vests, t-shirts, pants, and sneakers on the path. However, the two men hadn’t commented on her clothing style the previous night, which was clearly not the case with Isis, who finally sighed, letting her shoulders relax. She seemed incredibly tense, and perhaps that was the source of her disdain towards the young human.

"She’ll need proper clothes, and a wash before departure wouldn’t hurt," concluded Isis, turning her gaze to her son as it was his home.

He nodded, understanding perfectly that his mother had just tasked him with this job.

"Show her the washroom, I’ll handle the clothes," she corrected herself after a brief moment of reflection.

If she picks an outfit as elegant as hers, I’m all for it! Anaïs thought, watching the goddess leave the hallway and disappear into a room a few meters away.

Isis wore a long, sleeveless white dress with golden stripes, the fabric reaching her ankles and revealing only the tips of her manicured feet clad in wedge sandals. Numerous golden jewelry pieces adorned her arms, neck, and ears, completely elevating the outfit and betraying nothing of her status as a goddess. Everything about her screamed chic and distinguished—a deity as well as a king’s wife.

"Come," invited Anubis, leading her three doors down the hallway.

She followed him without a word until he encouraged her to enter the room, which looked more like a public bath than a simple bathroom, judging by the size of the pool in the middle. It was as large as an inflatable pool, circular and deep enough for bathers to sit with their shoulders submerged. Soft sunlight bathed the room as there was no ceiling, similar to an interior courtyard. The pool was already filled to the brim with water that seemed relatively clean to her, and a chest against the wall offered linen towels and a block of purple soap. Lavender, she guessed without even needing to smell it.

"You have thirty minutes, otherwise Mother might come and drag you out of the pool herself," he joked, though his eyes didn’t lie about the seriousness of his threat.

He approached the pool and bent down to plunge his hand into the water up to his wrist. A red glow emanated from his flesh, and Anaïs stepped closer, curious, before realizing he was warming the water to a comfortable temperature for her. She smiled at the jackal god who stood up and watched her and thanked him warmly. When Anubis continued to gaze at her without any indication that he was ready to leave a few seconds later, Anaïs broke their eye contact and turned her back to him to slowly begin removing her t-shirt.

"Are you going to stay until I get into the water?" she asked innocently.

The god didn’t reply and simply left the room, finally leaving her alone to enjoy her royal bath. Given the size of the pool, she felt at least like a princess. It was a far cry from the narrow shower in her apartment. She hadn’t had the chance to relax like this since her vacation in Egypt.

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It seems this country suits me well, she concluded, satisfied, before removing the rest of her clothes.

The water temperature was perfect, she noted happily as she slid her legs into the pool to sit on the marble step that served as a seat. The pool’s dimensions seemed almost tailor-made, as the water level reached precisely at the base of her throat. She just had to rest her head back on the edge and close her eyes to relax and enjoy her last hour in the afterlife.

I hope I’ll get the same treatment in the land of the living… He knows I was a "servant", maybe he’ll sell me to someone… No, she corrected herself after a moment of reflection. He wouldn’t do that, I know. I don’t know how I know, but I do.

Twenty minutes later, Anaïs heard someone knocking on the door. Without a clock, she assumed she had exceeded the time allotted to her and reached for the soap she had left on the edge to wash herself. She had lingered in the water without worrying about the time or cleaning herself, completely forgetting Anubis’s threats.

"I’m coming in," informed Isis’s voice before opening the door and closing it behind her. "I brought you clean clothes."

Fortunately for Anaïs, she wasn’t modest, as the goddess didn’t seem to care about her nudity and entered the room as if it was nothing. She spoke to her while looking her in the eyes, without even glancing away. After all, they were both women. Even if one was a deity and the other a mere human, they had the same body.

Memories of the foster home where she had spent the last five years before reaching adulthood crossed her mind. Living in a community with about ten girls her age had made her lose her modesty. A smile appeared on her lips when the face of her best friend at the time, Lisa, materialized in her head. They had always loved taking baths or going to the pool together, inseparable as they were back then. Lisa’s presence had helped Anaïs gradually get used to her new life without her parents and accept that they were now part of her past. The road to that point hadn’t been easy, but the young woman was grateful to have found a friend like Lisa along the way.

Too bad adult life eventually separated us, she regretted it with a pang of sadness.

Before leaving Anaïs alone in the room again, Isis paused and fixed her guest with an inquisitive and almost accusatory gaze. At this moment, modesty was not the issue but a pure and direct challenge. The goddess’s look felt like a warning, which ended up annoying the young human who stood up, head held high after rinsing herself, revealing her naked body without any shame. If Isis thought she could intimidate her just because she was a deity, she was sorely mistaken. Anaïs wouldn’t remember any of this soon, and their paths would never cross again, so she didn’t care about defying the gods.

"What?" she snapped, grabbing a towel to wrap around her chest, her eyes locked on Isis, whose hostility had turned to astonishment.

Perhaps the goddess hadn’t expected her threatening aura or divine status to fail against their guest. In any case, judging by the way her face reflected her confusion, it was clear she hadn’t anticipated Anaïs resisting her gaze and even daring to challenge her. Isis quickly regained her composure, now showing a neutral and inscrutable expression. Less aggressive, more respectful. It seemed she had earned the right to be taken seriously by the deity.

"Do not distract Anubis from his task," she demanded simply, her voice dry but free of venom. "You disturb him, I have seen it."

"Oh," exclaimed Anaïs, certainly not expecting such a remark.

"Understood?" insisted Isis.

"I suppose, yes," the young human confirmed with a shrug, unsure of what else to say.

It would be stupid to antagonize her over something so trivial, especially for the little time I have left here, she quickly deduced from the situation.

For the first time since the two women had met, the goddess graced her with a timid smile and a satisfied nod before leaving and closing the door behind her. Anaïs exhaled deeply, releasing the tension that had built up during their brief interaction. She hadn’t even noticed how her body had tensed, responding to what it perceived as a threat or at least a potential attack.

She spent the next ten minutes drying her skin and hair, attempting to detangle it with her fingers as best she could. Her hair wasn’t very long and was relatively straight, which helped in her task. She had no doubt there was a comb somewhere, but this was quicker. It would give her a styled yet slightly tousled look—or so she hoped—that would go perfectly with the white dress Isis had brought her.

The dress was long, like the goddess’s, featuring a bodice and two strings that tied behind the neck, forming a triangle on her neck by intertwining the cords. The sleeveless top of the dress was slightly adorned with some golden accents around the neck, arms, and waist in an imitation belt, but the garment was still relatively simple yet extremely elegant. Isis had even thought to bring accessories to enhance the outfit with a golden choker and a thick gold bracelet that she slipped on her wrist. The ensemble was completed with a pair of flat gladiator sandals. And thankfully so, because she had no intention of navigating a new city in wedge heels like the goddess.

Since she didn’t know where the duo was, she resigned herself to find them by following the sound of their voices. If her sense of direction didn’t fail her, they were outside, in the outer gardens behind the villa, the same place as yesterday. The tone of their conversation seemed serious, but they stopped talking when they saw the young human approaching. Anubis was sitting dignified on one of the divans while Isis was semi-reclined, busy eating grapes, or at least what was left of yesterday’s bunches. The low table was overflowing with the same food as the night before for breakfast, reminding Anaïs that she hadn’t eaten anything that morning.

"We will leave when you’ve eaten something," Anubis announced, his deep gaze settling on her figure.

The way his eyes attentively observed the young human’s movements didn’t escape Isis’s notice, so Anaïs ignored the jackal god and simply joined them, sitting on the last divan to have her breakfast in an almost awkward silence. She had never tried so hard to avoid someone’s gaze before that day.